Posted By Nick Higginson Brian, I used to work for a Meter reading company and had the same issue. They used to use a Hand Held Terminal for input of data entry. We received a letter from the union saying that we were failing to comply with the DSE Regs by not carrying out DSE assessments. After studying the exemptions in the regs I still couldn't decide, so rang the HSE infoline and spoke to an inspector. He told me that they do not come within the scope of the DSE regs. As I have moved on since then, I'm afraid I couldn't tell you who I spoke to. Rmemember that even if you decide not to carry out DSE assessments, a generic risk assessment under the Management Regs is still required. Principle hazards relate to people on piece work entering data whilst still walking around! However, the Terminal is a control measure in the case of dog attack (the bane of a meter readers life). I have seen many a near miss report when a dog has been fended off with a Hand Held Terminal between the eyes! Regards, Nick